Switchback Spring, May 22-24, 2027 in New Orleans, LA
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Switchback at TRE, December 1-3, 2026 in San Antonio, TX
While most educational sessions at Switchback Spring felt like congenial gatherings to share knowledge and success stories or analyze new trends, the vibe in the session on tariffs, felt like a crisis management situation room. Panel host and Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) president Kent Ebersole lightened the mood with an informal survey of attendees: it was a roughly even split between retailers, brands, and government.
Megan Costello, a panelist from D.C.-based Sorini Strategic Advisors (SSA), set the scene, explaining how this summer feels like the eye of the storm as we await new tariff decisions later this year that could return us to the initial higher tariffs and be more permanent. Or not.
“Chaos, chaos, chaos,” in Ebersole parlance.
April 2, 2025, aka “Liberation Day,” was an iceberg that much of the economy, and especially that of specialty outdoor brands, crashed into. Now, over a year later, some small brands have shuttered and the ones still open are navigating a tenuous, uncertain path with no clear outlook. Container space is limited as brands hold onto stockpiles, and Emily Vedaa, a panelist and Director of Global Customs and Trade for Columbia Sportswear, warned that customs agents are cracking down on enforcement of byzantine laws that can be challenging to a small business lacking a dedicated customs department. The third member of this panel, Cassie Abel, knows this feeling all too well.
“As of April 2025, I knew nothing about trade policy,” says Abel, founder of the ten-year-old women’s outdoor apparel brand, Wild Rye. “That is not the case anymore.”
Basically overnight, Wild Rye was facing 145% tariff increase on imports from China. The nine-person company had been working on a ski outerwear collection for four years and Abel immediately stopped production as the tariffs bit in. Eventually, Abel started production again, but under such stress that she began having fainting spells so frequently she saw a doctor.
Fortunately, OIA reached out to Abel and invited her to join them in D.C. to tell her story to legislators. At the time, they were relatively clueless to the real-world fallout from the new tariffs, especially for many specialty outdoor brands. Unfortunately, the chaos and uncertainty has continued into 2026.
“I’ve watched so many brand friends close,” Abel says. “It’s halted growth and innovation for small brands. The big brands sell globally so they’re only subject to tariffs here. They can focus on European business and spread out tariffs, and they have different supply chains in South America or less tariffed Asian countries.”
The good news is that Wild Rye is still alive and, a few days before Switchback, Abel received her tariff refund check, a windfall that will help pay debts and cover salaries. “It’s just a course correct, at this point,” Abel says. For her first Switchback show, it isn’t about sales or media: “It’s about idea sharing and relationships.”
Photo Credit: Wild Rye
Trailheads gathered three suggestions from the panel in hopes of helping other brands struggling with tariffs.
Vedaa, who also serves as Chair of the Trade Advisory Council at OIA, says they quickly realized that the one-off Truth Social posts declaring certain new tariffs and percentages needed to be vetted before sending a potentially unnecessary crisis ripple through the company.
“Phase Zero is what we call the initial Truth Social post,” Vedaa says. “That is not actionable, but the press often reports the post, and if you take that at face value there could be unnecessary freak out. It’s not real until there’s an executive order and then a Federal Register notice. At Columbia we set up an internal teams channel called the Customs Hotline, and we have staff on there to vet what’s actionable or not. We know to go to that hotline rather than hitting the panic button at Phase Zero.”
Brands can formally request an omission (don’t say exclusions—that’s apparently unwelcome terminology) for certain products that can’t be produced domestically or have specific circumstances that can insulate them from tariffs.
“You have to be diligent with the omission process and enter the information accurately in the comment portal,” says Costello. “We have seen real results. The comments matter.”
Now in the second year of this tariff uncertainty, Costello and Vedaa believe the collective stories of pain and chaos for American businesses, especially small businesses, are starting to break through in D.C.
“Keep talking to your member of Congress,” Vedaa says. “They are listening. Cracks are forming. In face-to-face meetings, we’re seeing a difference this year from last year.”
Abel wrote a letter to her Idaho reps, since she’s based in Sun Valley, and that led to meetings with the Senate Finance Committee. “Our representatives need to hear our personal small business stories, so they have the anecdotes and real-world examples to support a new direction with tariffs,” she says.
While this suggestion might sound like a shameless plug, the biggest challenge for a small business like Wild Rye is capacity. Abel didn’t start a brand to become a global customs and trade expert. She wants to get back to making great outdoor apparel for women.
OIA currently hosts bi-monthly meetings for members to discuss the latest tariff updates. It’s a way for small, midsize, and large brands to share knowledge and insights and get up-to-date intel. Costello’s team at SSA advises OIA so they can quickly translate an executive order or dig into the Federal Register and share the facts as tariff changes unfold.
“Small brands are the innovation in this industry,” Costello says. “They’re the ones pushing the larger brands to evolve and stay relevant. They bring that passion and sparkle. That’s why we’re here, to help make sure that sparkle stays alive.”
To access exclusive trade toolkits, policy briefs, and other helpful resources, become an OIA member today and join the collective voice of the outdoor industry.
